Love is blind: When Londa Mavundla fell for Netflix star, Buntu Petse
'A friend decided to hook me up. She felt it was time that I found love. So, she went on X (formerly Twitter) and put me on blast, Bachelorette style,' said the mother-to-be.
Their internet romance was so intense that Londa Mavundla and Buntu Petse fell in love before they even met.
The meeting
Buntu: A friend decided to hook me up. She felt it was time that I found love. So, she went on X (formerly Twitter) and put me on blast, Bachelorette style. She asked men who were bold enough to date me to step forward and Londa happened to be one of those to rear his head.
He instantly caught my attention, plus he had seen me on campus [University of the Witwatersrand], so there was no pressure in terms of what he expected me to look like. We proceeded to the talking stage at the beginning of 2018. We officially met for the first time when school opened in February.
Londa: One could say we had our “love is blind” moment, even though I had seen her before on campus. When we were on holiday in January, we’d speak every day and fell in love with each other before we met in person. I felt all sorts of emotions meeting her for the time because Buntu was a big personality at Wits and I was more laidback and calm. Before we even said “Hi” she kissed me — that somehow relaxed all the rules and made it easier for us to vibe.
The dating life
Buntu: We made things official a week after meeting. From the very beginning, I was clear about what kind of relationship I wanted because, prior to Londa, I had been in relationships that weren’t clear and I wasn’t going to put myself in such a situation again. Luckily, he was on board because he was looking for the same thing I was. Our dating phase felt very intentional on both ends.
Londa: The first three months of our relationship were quite testing because we’re both opinionated people. There was a lot of unlearning we had to do, but after the breakthrough happened, we got to a common ground that is stable.
The lightbulb moment
Londa: I had several moments when I knew Buntu was the one, but the one that stands out is when she lost a friend’s jacket, in June 2018. We were trying to find the same jacket at the shops so we could replace it. As a broke student, all I could do was pour petrol in my car with my last money.
Buntu was left with her last R700, but she bought the jacket. From that money, she got only R200 in change. We were at Sandton City, both feeling hungry, and she decided to use her last money for pizza and a 2l Coke. I looked at her and thought, “Damn, this girl must really love me because she used all her pennies to make sure that we’re fed.” I saw her as my ride or die.
Buntu: It felt like this was it from the minute we started texting. Meeting and going on dates solidified it even more because I got to see how compatible we are. I knew I loved him in our fourth month of dating. I loved how he made me feel about myself. He allowed me to be vulnerable and break down some of my walls.
The proposal
Londa: I knew for a long time I wanted to marry her. I just needed to figure out the technicalities of the whole thing. I picked out the ring with her cousin but had to hide it for a whole month. We then flew to Cape Town in June 2023 and I had to hide the ring even more. [Actor] Thapelo Mokoena is my friend’s older brother. He helped me plan a beautiful proposal at a vineyard but, because the weather was pretty bad, we had to change our plans.
We moved to plan B, which was a proposal on the beach, but the weather was horrible there too. We then switched to plan C, which was an enclosed wine tasting at a beautiful cellar. Down in the cellar there was a beautiful sign saying “Will You Marry Me?” — but Buntu didn’t even realise it was for her.
Buntu: I thought we were walking into someone else’s proposal. I remember crying like a baby because of how beautiful it looked.
Lobola negotiations
Londa: Buntu is Xhosa. I broke with her cultural custom of asking for someone’s hand in marriage with her dad first before proposing to her, but I only did that because I wanted to give her that fairytale experience. We later involved everyone else — my uncles went to her family and engaged in a robust affair that benefited both of us. I’m Zulu, so we blended our customs during the negotiations and, I must say, it was a beautiful dance.
The wedding
Buntu: We chose to have strictly traditional weddings. Our first one was an umembeso and the second one is umabo [traditional Zulu wedding ceremonies]. We chose to go the cultural route because it makes economic sense, instead of focusing on a white wedding. We also didn’t want to be that couple that’s left with debt when all the celebrations are finished.
We made sure to make it very intimate, even though a lot of people felt that, because they see me on TV [Buntu has acted in SABC 1’s Generations: The Legacy and the Netflix series Miseducation], they too needed to come and celebrate with us, so controlling that traffic was something we had to deal with.
The wedding fits
Buntu: I used Pinterest for ideas on traditional dresses. I then drew the design I wanted and got two beautiful dresses custom-made for me. Londa wore a Xhosa-inspired suit as a way to honour my family.
Londa: Since umembeso was done at Buntu’s family home, we all chose to wear Xhosa attire, but when they come to my hometown for the final wedding, we plan to wear Zulu-inspired creations.
